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[German version] The title Great King in the ancient Oriental tradition (from the 2nd millennium BC to the Achaemenids [1]) was adopted by Hellenistic rulers as μέγας βασιλεύς; megas basileûs (and continued as rex magnus [2. 253]). It is attested for the Seleucids  Antiochus [5] III, who did not use it on coins and in royal letters, but tolerated (or even promoted) its use elsewhere [3. 75-77],  Antiochus [9] VII (Iust. 38,10,6), Ptolemy III (OGIS I 54) and IV [5. 71-74], and later also for other Hellenistic kings and petty prin…

[German version] (Middle Persian Kerdīr or Kirdīr). The name of a Sassanid religious-political official and dignitary of the 3rd cent. AD. In his four inscriptions [1. KKZ, KNRm, KNRb, KSM], originating from the times of King Vahrām II (276-293), K. describes his career from a simple hērbed (teacher priest) under Šābuhr I to mōbad and dādvar (judge) of the entire kingdom. Further, he praises his commitment to Zoroastrianism and explains his visions. The significant role attributed to him in the arrest of the Mani under Vahrām I is in fact merely se…

(Ὀξάθρης/ Oxáthrēs). [German version] [1] Youngest son of Darius [2] II and Parysatis Youngest son of Darius [2] II and Parysatis (Plut. Artoxerxes 1,5). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) [German version] [2] Son of Abulites, commander at Gaugamela Son of Abulites, commander of his father's troops at Gaugamela; he subjugated himself to Alexander [4] the Great, but he (now governor of Paraetacene) was executed in Susa in 324 because he failed to provide assistance to the Greek army marching through the Gedrosian desert (Arr. Anab. 3,8,5; …

[German version] (Φραταφέρνης/ Phrataphérnēs). Satrap of the territories of Parthia and Hyrcania under Darius [3] III (Arr. Anab. 3,23,4); he commanded the Parthians, Hyrcanians and Topeirians in the battle of Gaugamela in 331 BC ( ibidem 3,8,4). After the death of Darius he was reinstated in his old post by Alexander[4] the Great ( ibidem 3,28,2; 5,20,7; Curt. 8,3,17) and became one of the most loyal followers of the Macedonian. He took part in the suppression of the rebellion in Areia [1] ( ibidem 3,28,2; 4,18,1), arrested the insurgent Autophradates [2] (ibidem 4,18,2; Curt. 8,3,17…

[German version] I. Object of Research and Method In pre-industrial societies, the age of husband and wife at first marriage - alongside mortality and the menopause - determined the time-span available for procreation. An extension of this period usually caused a proportional rise in fertility. At the same time, the age of the husband influenced the size of the generation gap and the social and legal relations within the oíkos and familia. Ancient historians have developed various methodological approaches to establish this age, which differ in the choice of the so…

(Παρύσατις; Parysatis, Babylonian Purušātu). [German version] [1] Daughter of Artaxerxes [1] I and the Babylonian Andia Daughter of Artaxerxes [1] I and the Babylonian Andia; wife of her half-brother Darius [2] II, mother of Artaxerxes [2] II and Cyrus [3] the Younger (Ctesias FGrH 688 F 15; Plut. Artoxerxes 2,4) among other children. According to Greek tradition, she is said to have had a great influence on Darius (Ctesias ibid.; Plut. Artoxerxes 2,2), preferred Cyrus (Xen. An. 1,1,3; Ctesias FGrH 688 F 17), a…

[German version] ( Nēv Šābuhr). City founded by Šābuhr I (Sapor) (Ḥamza Iṣfah, Šahristānihā-i Ērān; Ṭabarī: Šābuhr II), capital of the Sāssānid province of Abaršahr in Westḫorāsān (Iran). Under Yazdgird II (5th cent. AD) it was for a time the most important royal residence of the Sāssānids (battles against the Hephthalites), and the city, in whose vicinity was also an important fire sanctuary, remained a flourishing metropolis until the Mongol Conquest of the 13th cent. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel)

[German version] Border territory of Media, opposite Parthyene east of the Caspian Gates (the modern territory of Dāmghān). Although it had already been lost for a period to the Seleucids before the eastern campaign ( anábasis) of  Antiochus [5] III, it did not finally fall to the Parthians (along with its central town of  Hecatompylus) until the 2nd cent. BC (cf. Str. 11,9,1). In the late Sassanid period the province ( šahr) Kōmiš, which incidentally was probably never a Christian diocese [1], separated the provinces of Gurgān and Ray. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography 1 R. Gysel…

[German version] Fertile and densely settled area in Sogdiana, mentioned only in Curt. 8,2,14 as "bordering Scythia." The location and region are today identified with Erkurgan and its surrounding area near Karshi in the plain of the River Qashqadaryo in Uzbekistan. At the approach of Alexander [4]  the Great in the winter of 329/8 BC the inhabitants of X. expelled the Bactrians (Bactria) that had defected from the Macedonians and sought refuge in their land. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography 1 F. Grenet, Zoroastre au Badakhshân, in: Studia Iranica 31, 2002, 193-214 2 C. Rapin, …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Xenophon | Alexander Large village (κώμη μεγάλη, probably modern Tall Gōmil near Ǧabal Maqlūb, 35 km north-east of Mosul) on the river Bumelos in northern Mesopotamia (Arr. Anab. 6,11,6), near which (cf. Arr. Anab. 3,8,7) the battle between  Alexander [4] the Great and  Darius [3] III took place on 1 October 331 (Arr. Anab. 3,11-15; Curt. 4,13,26-16; Plut. Alexander 31-33; Diod. Sic. 17,56-61; Iust. 11,14). After Alexander stalled a flanking manoe…

[German version] Region in north-western Iran, in Neo-Assyrian records referred to as KUR Ma-da-a-a. The borders of M. changed in the course of history and cannot be defined exactly in geographical terms; its political centre was Ecbatana. In historical times, the ethnolinguistic classification of M.'s predominant inhabitants was Iranian ( Medes). More or less neglected by classical Greek records, the geography of M. gained importance in the Western mind from the Alexandrian period. Polybius praised the stra…

[German version] (Ὀροίτης; Oroítēs). Persian governor in Sardeis who (according to Hdt. 3,120ff.) had Polycrates [1] enticed from Samos to Magnesia and crucified. When O. refused to assist Darius [1] I after the death of Cambyses [2], Darius had him disposed of (according to Herodotus, through a command from the royal envoy Bagaeus to the O.'s bodyguard). From the entourage of O., the physician Democedes came to the Persian court. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography P. Briant, Histoire de l'Empire perse: de Cyrus à Alexandre, 1996, s.v. Oroites

[German version] [1] Important Etruscan female deity Important Etruscan female deity, whose name, inscriptionally recorded from the 7th cent. BC (ET vol. 1, 179), was originally Etruscan and implies great age. T. appears in numerous depictions from the late Etruscan period, primarily as a goddess of love, fertility, and beauty. She is identified with the Greek Aphrodite and the Roman Venus [1]; her original sphere of influence, however, may have been wider (cf. Uni). T. was one of the cult goddesses in…

[German version] I. Ancient Orient The idea of a  rulership that encompassed the entire known world was expressed in Mesopotamia in various royal epithets ─ i.a. ‘Ruler of the Four Regions (of the world)’ ( šar kibrāt arbaim/erbettim), ‘Ruler over the Totality’ ( šar kiššatim), ‘Ruler of Rulers’ ( šar šarrāni). The title ‘Ruler of the Four Regions (of the world)’ is first documented for the Akkadian ruler  Naramsin (23rd cent. BC). However, the claim inherent in this title did not hold true according to contemporary documents, since Naramsin's…

(Ὀστάνης/ Ostánēs). [German version] [1] Persian governor of Babylonia and the Transeuphrates Akkadian Uštani. Persian governor of Babylonia and the Transeuphrates under Darius I (attested from 521-516 BC) [1]. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography 1 M.W. Stolper, Entrepreneurs and Empire, 1985, 8, 66. [German version] [2] Persian magician (Hostanes: Apul. Apol. 90). According to the Graeco-Roman biographical tradition, O. was a Persian magician who accompanied the expedition of Xerxes against Greece (479 BC) (Plin. HN 30,8 = [1. fragment 1…

[German version] A. Object of research, and method The object of demographic history is the description and explanation of structures and developments in (ancient) populations in their relationship to living space. So far, ancient demographic history has made studies of esp. ancient views of population development, the numerical values of ancient populations (at a particular point in time or over a particular period of time), the age and gender structures of ancient demographics and particular determina…

(Τιριδάτης/ Tiridátēs). [German version] [1] Artaxerxes' [2] II eunuch Artaxerxes' [2] II eunuch (Ael. VH 12,1). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) [German version] [2] Achaemenid commander of Persepolis, 2nd half of 4th cent. BC Achaemenid commander and 'treasurer' of Persepolis, who was kept in his post by Alexander [4] the Great after the surrender of the 'citadel' and treasure (Diod. Sic. 17,69,1; Curt. 5,5,2; 6,11). From 330/29 BC T. was a strategos of the Ariaspae and Gedrosians (Gedrosia) (Diod. Sic. 17,81,2). In 328/7 BC, Alexander gave the estates of a T. to the pa…

[German version] [1] City in Parthia This item can be found on the following maps: Graeco-Bactria | Graeco-Bactria | Hellenistic states City in the mountain region of Apavortene in Parthia. According to Pompeius Trogus (Iust. 41,5,2-4), this place was distinguished by its strategic and geographical merits (Plin. HN 6,46) and was founded by the Parthian king  Arsaces [1] I. As the region is mentioned elsewhere (as Apauarktikene, Isid. by Charax, 1,13, and Partautikene/ Artakana Ptol. 6,5), but not the city, it is assumed that the settlement diminished in importance la…

[German version] [1] Prisoner of war from Pedasa Prisoner of war from Pedasa, who, according to Hdt. 8,104f., as a eunuch, had become one of the closest confidants of  Xerxes I and is said to have taken his revenge on the slave trader Panionius (Ath. 6,266e attests that the story was well known).  Eunuchs Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography 1 P. Briant, Histoire de l'empire perse de Cyrus à Alexandre, 1996, 283-288 2 P. Guyot, Eunuchen als Sklaven und Freigelassene, 1980, Register s.v. [German version] [2] Mathematician from Colophon of Colophon, mathematician. He continued …

[German version] (Old Persian bagastāna ‘place of gods’, Βαγίστανα; Bagístana), Βαγίστανον ὄρος; Bagístanon óros, Behistun). Rock face 30 km east of Kermanshah, on the road from Babylon to Ecbatana on the  Choaspes ( Silk Road [3. 11]), on which  Darius I had his achievements from c. 520 BC recorded pictorially and in inscription -- c. 70 m above the road level -- in several phases. Because of their trilingual form (Elamite, Babylonian, Old Persian) the inscription [1] was the key to decipherment of the  cuneiform script ( Trilinguals). The reli…

(Σπιθριδάτης/ Spithridátēs, 'granted by heaven'). [German version] [1] Persian commander, 5th cent. BC Persian commander from a highly prominent family (Xen. Hell. 4,1,6 f.). In 420 BC, he fought against the rebellious Pissuthnes, and under Pharnabazus [2] against the Ten Thousand, joined Agesilaus [2] in 396 and returned to the Persians in 395/394 (Ctes. FGrH 688 F 15,53; Xen. An. 6,5,7; Xen. Hell. 3,4,10; 4,1,20 ff.; Xen. Ages. 3,3). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) Bibliography Briant, Index s. v. S. [German version] [2] Satrap of Lydia, 4th cent. BC Satrap of Lydia and Ionia who …

[German version] [1] Port of Megara on the Bay of Saronia (Νίσαια/ Nísaia). Port of Megara [2] on the Saronikos Kolpos near modern Páchi [1. 259]. To the east of N. in Antiquity there was the island (now part of the mainland) of Minoa [2. 56-62], connected to the mainland by a bridge (Thuc. 3,51,3). Megara and its citizens are often described in ancient sources as ‘Nisaean’ [3. 156]. In the 6th cent. BC, N. temporarily belonged to Athens (Hdt. 1,59; Plut. Solon 12,3). In 461 BC the Athenians occupied N. a second time (Thuc. 1,103,4) and connected it with the c…

(Εὐλαῖος; Eulaîos). [German version] [1] Main river of the area of Susiana One of the main rivers of the area of Susiana (Arr. Anab. 7,7; Diod. Sic. 19,19,1; Plut. Eumenes 14; Str. 15,3,4; 22; Plin. HN 6,100; 31,35 et al.) on which the metropolis Susa was also situated; it appears in the Hellenistic period as the Greek polis with the name Σελεύκεια ἡ πρὸς τῷ Εὐλαίῳ(Seleucia on the E.). It is indeed certain that E. was named after the river name Ulaï that appears in Mesopotamian and Biblical testimonials; however the identification of E. and the other rivers of Susiana passed…

(Μανδάνη; Mandánē). [German version] [1] Daughter of the Medean king Astyages According to Hdt. 1,107, Xen. Cyr. 1,2,1 and Iust. 1,4,4, daughter of the Medean king Astyages, wife of the Persian Cambyses [1] and mother of Cyrus [2]. It seems that the dynastic link thus transmitted was meant to lend retrospective legitimation to the claims of Cyrus to the Medean (and, if M.'s mother was the Lydian princess Aryenis (Hdt. 1,74), also the Lydian) throne. Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) [German version] [2] Daughter of Darius [1] I and sister of Xerxes I According to the court story surviving in …

(Μαρδόνιος/ Mardónios < old Persian Marduniya). [German version] [1] Aristocratic Persian, son of Gobryas [3] Aristocratic Persian, son of the Gobryas [3] who plotted with Darius [1] I against Gaumāta (Gaubaruva; Hdt. 6,43,1 et passim) and a sister of Darius (Hdt. 7,5,1), grandson of M. [3. DB IV 84], husband of the daughter of Darius, Artazostra (Hdt. 6,43,1; [2. PFa 5,1f., 110, 118]) and father of Artontes (Hdt. 9,84,1). As a young man M. reorganized the political affairs of the Ionian cities on behalf of th…

[German version] I. Ancient Orient and Egypt In Egypt and Mesopotamia, hospitality was not regarded as a value in itself, but generosity to the needy was seen in both cultures as an obligatory norm, in the sense of a communicative and vertical solidarity [1; 2]. According to Egyptian sources, strangers were treated with reserve, and late teachings (Ankh-Sheshonqi 21,24f.) speak of the loneliness of a person in a strange city where (s)he has no relatives. Rarely, letters contain admonitions to treat an announced guest with proper attention…

[German version] I. General The construction of a network of roads and ways and the creation of long-distance roads always correlates with settlement construction and structure. A mixed settlement structure comprises compact settlements and dispersed homesteads in large number and is in evidence across wide areas of the ancient world for the most varied epochs. Such a settlement structure produces an especially dense network of traffic routes. Ancient roads were staked out on the principle of creati…

(Ὀρόντης/ Oróntēs, MSS; Ὀρόντας/ Oróntas, OGIS 264,4; Ἀροάνδης/ Aroándēs, OGIS 390ff.). Armenian satraps and kings: O. [1-6]; the river O. [7]. [German version] [1] Relative of the Armenian royal family Relative of the royal family. After initial antagonism with Cyrus [3] the Younger, O. became his follower, and was subsequently convicted of treason and executed (Xen. An. 1,6; 9,29). Wiesehöfer, Josef (Kiel) [German version] [2] O. I Persian governor of Armenia Son of the Bactrian Artasyras. As the Persian governor of Armenia, he married Rhodogune, the daughter of…

(Ξέρξης/ Xérxēs; Old Persian Xšayāršā, 'ruling over heroes'). [German version] [1] X. I Achaemenid great king (486-465 BC), son of Darius [1] I and Atossa [1]. 'Born in the purple', X. was designated by his father as his successor (XPf 31 ff. = [6. 81-85]; Hdt. 7,2 f.; Porphyrogénnētos ). At the beginning of his reign he defeated an uprising in Egypt (Hdt. 7,3), and later the rebellions of Šamaš-Erība and Bēl-Šimmanni in Babylonia [3. 361 ff.]. A campaign to Greece (in 480/79 BC) - about which only accounts from the…

[German version] [1] City in Boeotia (Νῖσα/ Nîsa). City in Boeotia, mentioned only in the Homeric catalogue of ships (Hom. Il. 2,508). In Antiquity, it was identified (Paus. 1,39,4-6) with Megara [2], the main port of which was called Nisaea, but this is unlikely. Evidence: Str. 9,2,14; Dionysius Calliphontus 102; schol. Theocr. 12,27; schol. Hom. Il. 2,508. Freitag, Klaus (Münster) Bibliography E. Visser, Homers Katalog der Schiffe, 1997, 279f. [German version] [2] City and fortress complex in Turkmenistan This item can be found on the following maps: Graeco…

[German version] [1] City on the west coast of the Black Sea This item can be found on the following maps: Pontos Euxeinos | Thraci, Thracia | Colonization | Apollo | Moesi, Moesia (Μεσ(σ)αμβρία, Μεσ(σ)ημβρία/ Me(s)sambría, Me(s)sembría). von Bredow, Iris (Bietigheim-Bissingen) [German version] I. Location A city on the west coast of the Black Sea ( Pontos Euxeinos), situated at the northern entrance to the bay of Burgas, on a small rocky peninsula, 850 m long and 300 m wide, now known as Nesebâr (in modern Bulgaria). It is connected with …

[German version] I. Mesopotamia In contrast with cultic  rituals, the secular ceremonies of Mesopotamia have up to now rarely been the subject of academic research. On the whole, it has to be assumed that individual and communal life in the societies of the Ancient Orient in general and that of the  ruler in particular were dominated by numerous rules, resulting in more or less standardized patterns of behaviour. The reconstruction of such non-cultic ceremonies is largely dependent on secondary refe…

(Κῦρος; Kŷros, Lat. Cyrus). [German version] [1] C. I. (the Elder) Grandfather of  Cyrus [2] (the Great), known from the cylinder inscription of his grandson (TUAT I 409,21). Here he is given the title ‘great king, king of Anšān’ ( šarru rabû šar Anšān;  Anshan) and called ‘descendant’ ( liblibbu) of  Teispes. The genealogical link C. (I.) ─ Cambyses (I.) ─ C. (II.) is also mentioned in Hdt. 1,111. C. the Elder may accordingly be interpreted as a petty king of Persian descent, ruling over (a part of (?) the formerly Elamite) Fārs in the 7th/…

[German version] [1] Pylae Gadeirides The Straits of Gibralter (Πύλαι Γαδειρίδες; Pýlai Gadeirídes). The Straits of Gibraltar; the sound (saddle depth 286 m), which is about 60 km long and at its narrowest point 13 km wide, lies between the southern tip of the Spanish Peninsula and the continent of Africa, and between the Mediterranean (Mare nostrum) in the east and Oceanus in the west. The ancient names for the straits are based on Gades (Plin. HN 3,3; 5; 74; 4,93: Gaditanum fretum; Plut. Sertorius 8,1: Γαδειραῖος πορθμός/ Gadeiraîos porthmós), on the temple of Heracles in Gades ('…

[German version] I. General Rulership is here understood as political rulership, i.e. a reciprocal social relationship serving to create and permanently preserve the social order through political organization. Rulership is based on fixed rules applying both to the ruler(s) and the ruled; thus those ruled generally assent blindly to the authority of the ruler(s), or are at least so minded as to tolerate it. As a system of order, rulership appears in different forms: in the ancient Near East and Egyp…

I. Ancient Orient [German version] A. Terminology Designations for rulers include: (1) descriptive terms like the Sumerian LUGAL (literally 'big man'), equated in vocabularies with the Akkadian šarru ('shining one(?)'), malku ('adviser', Hebrew melek), Hittite ḥaššu- ('well-born one'); furthermore, Sumerian NUN and Akkadian rubāum ('most excellent one'), and Sumerian EN, Akkadian bēlu, Hittite išḫa- ('lord'); these apply regardless of the size and structure of the area of rule. Feminine forms are recorded. (2) Culture and epoch specific titles (a…

(Ζώπυρος; Zṓpyros). [German version] [1] Persian, took part in the capture of Babylon Prominent Persian, son of Megabyzus [1], who according to Hdt. 3,153ff. had the gates of rebelling Babylon opened to Darius [1] I by using a ruse (self-mutilation and pretending to be a victim of the Great King). For this deceptive manoeuvre (Polyaenus, Strat. 7,13; referring to King Cyrus: Frontin. Str. 3,3,4) Z. allegedly received from Darius the satrapy of Babylonia for life and tribute-free, but he was killed when the B…

(Λάρισα; Λάρισσα; Lárisa, Lárissa). Name of numerous locations in Greece and Asia Minor, cf. Steph. Byz. s.v. Λ. [German version] [1] Acropolis of Argos The 289-m high acropolis of Argos with Mycenaean remains (not precisely identified) [1]. The temple of Zeus Larisaios and Athena Polias under the large Venetian castle has been excavated. References: Str. 8,6,7; Paus. 2,24,1; 3f.; Steph. Byz. s.v. Λάρισαι πόλεις. Lafond, Yves (Bochum) Bibliography 1 N. Vassilatos, Larissa. The Acropolis of Argos, 1994. [German version] [2] City in Achaea Phthiotis Important city in Achaea Phthi…

[German version] I. Ancient Orient and Egypt Crafts in Egypt, in Syria-Palestine and in Mesopotamia can be best categorized by the materials employed: stone, bone and other animal products, clay and glass, metals, wood, wool and flax and leather, as well as reed and plant fibres. These were used to make objects of the most varied kinds, from cooking-pots to finely worked pieces of jewellery. For the building trade, stone, clay, reed and wood were important. For the investigation of the various forms of…

I. Ancient Orient [German version] A. Introduction Judged by the principles of modern historiography, this discipline did not exist in the Ancient Orient. Nevertheless, the past has been treated in the literature in various ways, which indicates that history was an essential source of political and religious identity in the Ancient Orient. Frahm, Eckart (Heidelberg) [German version] B. Mesopotamia Records with a historical orientation do not emerge until the middle of the 3rd millennium BC in the form of royal inscriptions of Lagaš. Deeds are reported f…

[German version] I. Mesopotamia While attention in old Egyptian culture was largely centred on existence after death, the concerns of Mesopotamia were almost exclusively with the present. A significant part of the cultural energy of ancient Mesopotamia was devoted to keeping human actions in harmony with the divine, so as to ward off such misfortunes as natural catastrophes, war, sickness and premature death. As such, heavy responsibility rested on the ruler as mediator between the world of gods and that of men. In Mesopotamia everything which is and happens was seen as a man…

[German version] I. Name Strabo was the first to refer to the peninsula of Asia Minor (AM) west of the  Taurus (Str. 2,5,24; 12,1,3; cf. Plin. HN 5,27f.; Ptol. 5,2) as a single unit by the name of Asia in the narrower sense, as opposed to the continent of Asia. The term of Asia minor in this sense is first used in Oros. 1,2,26 (early 5th cent. AD). Olshausen, Eckart (Stuttgart) [German version] II. Geography AM is the westernmost part of the Asian continent between 36° and 42° northern latitude, and 26° and 44° eastern longitude, stretching from the Aegean to the Euphrates ( c. 1,200 km), and fro…